El Dorado senior finding form in AAU track season.
El Dorado senior finding form in AAU track season
Devunte Kidd will be expected to bring a lot of speed to El Dorado’s offense in the upcoming football season. This weekend, the senior will test that speed and athleticism against the nation’s best when he competes in the AAU Jr. Olympics Track & Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
The event will run from July 28 through Aug. 3.
Kidd, competing for Team Elite, qualified for the Jr. Olympics in the 100, long jump and 4x100 relay in the boys 17-18 age division.
“It’s most likely going to be one of the biggest meets of my life,” Kidd said. “Being far away and seeing more people. It’s going to be like 20 different heats in each event.”
Kidd is accustomed to big events on the state-wide level. He won the 5A state championship in the long jump and was state runner-up in the
100 during the high school season. He would place third in the long jump at the Meet of Champions.
He said AAU track and field is a different animal.
“It’s different. You see different people,” said Kidd. “I just started it this year. He wanted me to do it last year, but I didn’t really have my mind set on what I wanted to do. (This season) I just wanted to get out more. I needed it really. I want to run track in college.”
Kidd’s top performances are 22-02.5 in the long jump and 10.92 in the 100, both set in the spring. This summer, he won the long jump and was fifth in the 100 at the AAU District Qualifier in Little Rock. He placed second in both the 100 and long jump at the AAU Region 16 Qualifier in Tulsa a month ago.
He said he took some time off the track after the high school season, but his times are getting back into form.
“Devunte has worked really hard over the last month,” said Coach Kenneth Cunningham. “He started running with us late this summer, so he really hasn’t had a lot of training time. He is a naturally gifted track athlete so it’s not hard for him to compete at a high level. Devunte has lowered his time in the 100 each week we have been competing. I look for him to run somewhere around 10.8-10.9. His best shot at a medal will come in the long jump. He has a PR of 22-4 but is capable of jumping 23. We are working on improving some things technically, but I really like his chances in that event.”
Kidd said his focus in the 100 lately has been getting out of the blocks.
“My start, I’ve got to work on the technique in my start,” he said. “I had long-strided the start. I’ve been working on shortening it and then getting longer progressions through the run.”
Kidd has been splitting his time between track and football. He expects to see action at several receiver spots in Coach Steven Jones’ new offense. Kidd had 14 receptions for 365 yards last year with two touchdowns. He averaged a team-high 26.1 yards per catch.
“In the mornings I’ll have football from like, well it was 8 to 12 but now it’s 10-12. At track, I go in the afternoon from 5:30 to 7:30,” said Kidd, who will put all his attention to track this weekend.
“If I can get in the 10’s and be able to get into the finals in the 100. Jumping-wise, I want to get 22-something.”